Failed To Qualify For The 2026 World Cup With A Bad Result Reap, China Fires Branko Ivankovic

The Indonesian national team footballer Justin Hubner (right) has overseen the ball overshadowed by Chinese national team footballer Liu Chengyu (left) at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday (5/6/2025). (Doc. ANTARA PHOTO)

JAKARTA - after failing to pass China to the 2026 World Cup, China Football Association (CFA) on Friday sacked national team coach Branko Ivankovic.

This decision was taken following a series of poor results during the qualifying round.

China, which has only appeared in the World Cup for the first time, failed to repeat the feat after losing 0-1 to Indonesia in early June, which practically ended China's expectations.

"Because the Chinese men's national team failed to qualify for the play-offs, the contracts of coaches and staff automatically ended in accordance with applicable regulations," wrote Shanghai Daily as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, June 27.

"Branko Ivankovic will no longer lead China's national team."

China took second place at the bottom of Group C in the Asian zone, having won three out of 10 matches.

Ivankovic has coached Dinamo Zagreb club and Iran's national team.

Sebagai pengganti sementara, CFA menunjuk pelatih tim nasional U-19 China asal Serbia, Dejan Djurdjevic.

China is currently ranked 94th in the FIFA world. That position has continued its downward trend over the past few years.

This team is often a laughing stock for domestic fans due to poor performance, as well as a series of corruption scandals that continue to overshadow the world of Chinese football.

Chinese President Xi Jinping once stated his dream of China winning the World Cup at a time.

But this latest failure made China still have one appearance at the World Cup, namely 2002. At that time, China, coached by Bora Milutinovic, failed to score a single point, failed to score, and conceded nine goals.